A gruesome photograph of a crippled racehorse, published on the front page of last Sunday’s Express-News, sparked emotions far and wide.
The photo, by veteran staff photographer Tom Reel, captured Miss Pretty Promises, an obscure Texas quarter horse, on her knees, front legs broken, nose in the dirt moments before she was euthanized on the Retama Park track in Selma.
That and, to a lesser degree, reporter John Tedesco’s story beneath it repulsed readers.
“The saddest thing I’ve ever seen in a newspaper,” said Bill Mallory of Jourdanton.
“I’m not saying the problems shouldn’t be addressed (but) it shouldn’t have been on the front page,” said Clyde Keebaugh.
“Horrendous,” said Pam DelaBar, who said she is a trained equine abuse investigator.
I responded to some of them. DelaBar’s reaction symbolized many who hated the photo but didn’t object to the story.
“When you see a picture like that, it’s a turnoff,” she said. “People won’t read (the story).”
Contrarily, others claimed the photo ran on Page 1 “to sell newspapers.” And some said it preyed upon Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s injury in the Preakness Stakes a day earlier.
Notably, I think, the newspaper ran a photo May 23 (on Page 10A) of a lynching in Waco in 1916. I had two calls about it and neither objected to using the photo. But editors here had more than 200 complaints about Reel’s photo.
It’s worth telling how this story came to be:
Tedesco said he got the idea last year after seeing another injured horse die at Retama. His goal, he said, was to “unveil the tarp of secrecy” that shields the public from racing’s dark side.
His research showed 300 horses had died in the past five years on licensed Texas tracks and Retama had the most.
On April 28, he and Reel went to Retama for opening day of the racing season and witnessed Miss Pretty Promises’ fall. That gave Tedesco a lead for his story and Reel a memorable albeit troubling photograph. Within days, they’d finished their work and turned it in.
Neither journalist had a role in deciding if their work was worthy for publication. Editors make those decisions.
For Sunday Editor Audrey Lee, it was a no-brainer. The story “showed that behind the glamour of racing there is this underbelly,” said Lee, who picked the story for Page 1.
As for the photo, she said: “We knew it was emotionally charged content. We knew it would evoke strong reaction.
“However, most of us felt that when you read the story, the photo illustrated perfectly the plight of some of these horses.”
Nobody I spoke with at the newspaper objected to the photo, including a few self-proclaimed animal lovers. “It told the story,” was the common refrain.
Projects Editor David Sheppard, Tedesco’s boss, agreed: “We felt strongly that the photo belonged on the front page to let readers see for themselves what happens to some of these beautiful animals.”
Finally, as the editors prepared the racing package under the headline, “Fleet but fatally fragile,” Barbaro broke an ankle at the Preakness, one of horse racing’s major events. That made the local story even more intriguing.
“We were leaning against such prominent play until Barbaro’s injury thrust the issue of racing injuries to the forefront of the news,” Managing Editor Brett Thacker said.
“Is Tom Reel’s photo painful? Absolutely. Does it illustrate the point of the story? Nothing could have said it better.”
Some of the great photos of the 20th century were graphic, yet sparked change. Think of the snarling police dog tearing at a man’s pants leg during the civil rights era, or the photos at Abu Ghraib prison.
Reel’s photo was in that vein.
Margaret Ray, a reader who actually witnessed Miss Pretty Promises’ death, reacted to the photo more objectively, writing:
“Yes, this happens around the country, but it seems to happen at Retama often. Perhaps the track should be checked by experts … for the safety of the horses, and for the jockeys who risk their lives to ride them.”
I agree. What do you think?.
